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Top Other Money News

Leanne Macardle

Editor

Published: 23/05/2019

The expertise of the Moneyfacts team is regularly in demand from news outlets and journalists across the national and financial spectrum, with many relying on our up-to-the-minute data and insightful quotes to inform their stories. Here are just a few places we’ve been in the news this week.

Our story on the average two-year tracker rate falling was picked up by a number of publications, including Mortgage Strategy, Mortgage Solutions, Financial Reporter, Your Mortgage and Which?. “It appears that an increasing number of products this month, and subsequent intensifying competition, has driven the average variable rate down,” said Darren Cook, one of our resident finance experts. “The amount of interest a borrower is required to pay monthly on a variable tracker rate mortgage could of course change over time, but any fluctuations in rate are likely to be linked to external factors such as the Bank of England Base Rate.”

The Daily Mail, This is Money and The Times all covered our research on rising easy access rates, in which we revealed that competition from challenger brands is pushing rates further upwards as providers continually look to leapfrog one another to offer the best rate in the market. However, Darren warns that these rates may not be around for long: “The providers that are pushing up rates will be closely monitoring the level of overall deposits they are taking and may cut the rate if it becomes too popular. Savers should keep an eye out: if a market-leading rate appears that suits their requirements, quick action is required as it could disappear as quickly as it arrived.”

Several publications reported on Yorkshire Building Society launching interest-only mortgage deals – including The Times, Fair Investment, Your Mortgage and Mortgage Solutions – and in doing so picked up on our previous research into the area, in which we found that the number of interest-only mortgages available has doubled in the last six years.

The Moneyfacts Weekly Product News is a round-up of the latest products or rate changes to hit the consumer finance market over the past seven days. The deals are available right now, but may be subject to change.

Moneyfacts has been at the heart of the financial world for over 30 years, and today, we’re pleased to announce the launch of our brand new website.

The new and improved Moneyfacts.co.uk is now open for business, offering our trademark impartial, accurate and comprehensive comparison charts in a whole new way.

We’ve worked hard to create a site that fulfils our purpose of helping consumers find the products they need quickly and simply, allowing for easy comparisons with all the necessary information readily available. Whether they’re looking for a savings account, mortgage, loan or anything else in our repertoire, the sleek design of our new site makes it easy to find the financial information needed in just a few clicks, and of course, we still have all the latest news and informative guides to complete the package.

With every expectation that the Government will delay the implementation of its cold-calling ban until Autumn, it's not only pensioners that have to worry about being talked out of their funds, as a study from the AA reveals that 63% of drivers have received unsolicited calls or texts.

This number is unchanged since 2016 and includes 55% who have never actually been in a collision, making the calls all the more onerous and unwelcome. "This insidious tide of cold calls is a plague … and change in the law can't come soon enough," said Janet Connor, the AA's director of insurance.

"Our survey shows that almost all (92%) consider such calls to be a nuisance and 63% believe the number of these calls is increasing," she added. Further figures show that 88% of respondents have been called several times, with 29% even receiving more than 10 unwanted calls or texts over the last 12 months.

There are several official proposals in place to try and tackle this nuisance, including a bill that seeks to stamp out certain injury claims, giving companies less reason to call people out of the blue. Even if all proposed measures are implemented and successful, however, it's still up to the individual to remain vigilant.

If you've been in an accident, the first step should always be to call your insurer. If you don't trust that your insurer will give you adequate help, then maybe it's time to compare car insurance policies and switch to a better deal. Whatever you do, don't believe a caller straight away when they say they're with the AA, for instance, even if you are a member.

It's not all doom and gloom, though, as the proposals making their way through parliament, including a small claims track limit for personal injury claims, have already resulted in a welcome decrease in car insurance costs. If these measures don't end up getting implemented, however, there's a chance that policies may increase again, so now may be an ideal time to take advantage and switch your car insurance policy.

We all know that the cost of TV and broadband packages can be expensive, but new research shows that cutting out the TV could save you far more than you may think – if you used the money saved to overpay your mortgage instead, you could shorten your mortgage term and save a whopping £20,000 in the process!

Hefty savings

That's according to figures from Freesat, which certainly make for interesting reading. Let's say you're a first-time buyer who bought a home for £205,170 – the average price for a first home, according to Halifax – and were able to put down a deposit of 10%. This would result in a mortgage of £184,653, with monthly repayments of £925 (based on a 25-year mortgage term with a 3.5% interest rate).

At the same time, the average TV customer pays £44 a month for their contract, but Freesat's calculations show that if you quit the contract and used the £44 to overpay your mortgage each month instead, you could clear your mortgage a year and nine months earlier than planned.

Those extra monthly payments could amount to £12,276 over the shortened mortgage term of 23 years and three months, and thanks to the earlier repayment, you'd save £7,255 on interest, equating to a combined saving of £19,531 – all from cancelling your TV contract!

Time to take the plunge?

Given that typical pay-TV customers only use a small amount of the content they pay for – the report cited research showing that 99% of Sky TV customers' most-watched shows are available on free to air channels, while 24% of sports channel subscribers admit to watching just one hour or less of sports content a week – it could be far more cost-effective to move away from paid-for TV.

Many subscribers aren't happy with their current deal, anyway: Freesat found that 42% of those surveyed are unhappy with their contract, with 32% thinking about quitting, and a further 42% feel taken advantage of by regular price hikes. So don't put up with it!

"Paying for a TV subscription may not seem like a significant outgoing when you consider the cost on a month-by-month basis, but over the course of 25 years, TV customers will spend £13,000 on their contract," said Freesat spokesperson Jennifer Elworthy.

"While we don't expect everyone will consistently overpay on their mortgage, our calculation illustrates how a moderate monthly saving can add up to a life-changing amount of money. Free-to-air channels already offer a great range of quality TV to consumers, and for those looking for surplus entertainment, there are far cheaper options."

What next?

If you're paying more than you'd like for your current TV and broadband package, it's time to take a look at the alternatives. Use our broadband comparison tool to get started – you may find a cheaper TV offering, or you may want to forego paid-for TV altogether and opt for a simple broadband deal instead. Whatever you decide, we can help you get the best deal possible, so get searching and see how much you could save!

Recent Other Money News

The Moneyfacts Weekly Product News is a round-up of the latest products or rate changes to hit the consumer finance market over the past seven days. The deals are available right now, but may be subject to change.

The Moneyfacts Weekly Product News is a round-up of the latest products or rate changes to hit the consumer finance market this week.

The expertise of the Moneyfacts team is regularly in demand from news outlets and journalists across the national and financial spectrum, with many relying on our up-to-the-minute data and insightful quotes to inform their stories. Here are just a few places we’ve been in the news this week.

The expertise of the Moneyfacts team is regularly in demand. Here are just a few places we’ve been in the news this week.

The expertise of the Moneyfacts team is regularly in demand, with journalists from across the national and financial spectrum relying on us to provide accurate information and useful insight at a moment’s notice.

The expertise of the Moneyfacts team is regularly in demand, with journalists from across the national and financial spectrum relying on us to provide...